Unseen - Most Arrogant Kidnapper Taken Down By His Ex-Wife | The Case of Nancy Tyler | UNSEEN

Episode Date: February 27, 2024

“I can’t just let him kill me” -- July 7th, 2009: Nancy Tyler, handcuffed to a wall, knows that the stand-off between the police and her ex-husband can’t go on. The mother of two is left alone by her captor for the first time in 12 hours, and this is her final opportunity to escape her hostage situation before he snaps again. External Footage from: "Domestic Violence Survivor Speaks 10 Years After South Windsor Kidnapping", "NBC Connecticut", "Deadly Demands (S1E1)", "Chaos In Connecticut", "Investigation Discovery", "Richard Shenkman Phones The Day During Hostage Crisis", "The Day", "20/20", "Taken", "12 Hours Of Terror", "ABC". "20/20 On ID (S3 E17)", Wrongful Revenge", "Investigation Discovery", "Shenkman Threatens Ex In Courtroom Rant", "Fox 61", "WTIC", "Wife Held Hostage Details Her Escape", "ABC News", "Shenkman's Ex-Wife Testifies, "The Day", "Panic 911 (S1E3)", "I Plan On Leaving Here In A Body Bag", "A&E", "ACB NEWS", "Getty Images", "Motion Array", "Audio Network". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm leaving this property in a body bag. How many other body bags you need? And that's going to be in the treatment by how stupid you want. The voice you just heard is Richard Shankman. On July 7, 2009, he kidnapped, handcuffed, and held Nancy Tyler at gunpoint. During negotiations with police, he makes it clear he won't let her go, and he's willing to kill anyone who gets in his way. As a 911 ride upra, you have a person's life in their hands.

No, I want to talk to Nancy, though. Can I talk to her? Yeah. Police around the building, but they can't close in without risking Nancy's life and their own. Hours later, without his demands being met, Richard is losing his patience. With time running out, Nancy is the only one who can stop him. I just want to make sure that she's safe right at the moment. No, she's not.

She's not safe. They think you're safe. They think they're going to negotiate this into a settlement. I do. That's why I'd like to talk to you more about. I'm not talking anymore. Now I'm killing. Goodbye.

It's 8.45 a.m. on July 7th, 2009, police in Hartford, Connecticut, have just gotten an urgent call. A woman says she was on the phone with her friend Nancy when she heard a man attacking her. They're able to track Nancy's phone to a house nearby in South Windsor, owned by a man named Richard Shankman. Officers rush over, surrounding the property. Richard is holding Nancy. hostage inside with a gun pointed right at her. Then police get a call from Richard himself. The police officer is off the 9th September 5 right now. Otherwise bring a lot of body bags. The house is wired for explosives so you come into this house and be sure any

swap number knows this is mission. Police don't know if he really has explosives, but they have to take his threats seriously. Not only is Nancy in danger, but so are all nearby neighbors and the officers surrounding the house, they start to evacuate the neighborhood, taking every precaution to keep the residents safe. Richard calls again, and he talks to a negotiator. This is a eight months of planning here. Most of these are reactionary. This one's not. This is going to be a situation that nobody's a train for because I'm in charge. Richard wants to control the negotiations. He even tells police to bring him their hostage negotiation manual. He starts listing other dimensions. He starts listing other dimensions.

demands, revealing more about his disturbing motivations for kidnapping Nancy. I want to have to preach, and I also need somebody to go to town hall and take out a marriage license. Well, you know how town hall moves, Joe, it's going to take a little bit for everything, right? You better convince that, or she's dead. We don't want anybody to get hurt. Okay, we want to work with you on this. Richard is Nancy's ex-husband. It's supposed to be the day of their final divorce hearing, but not only does Richard want a marriage license, he also

demands a priest to give Nancy her last rights. He's on edge from the first call, and negotiators need to calm him down. They have to try to keep him talking, so he doesn't turn his anger on Nancy inside. Work with me, though, Richard. Tell me what you're doing. The problem we're going to have is that you have too many questions. I'm just trying to get which direction you want me to go with all this. So I'm hungry. Can you send me a pizza? You can get your pizza? That was a joke. We're going to have some fun again. I hope somebody's That's the central fever, because it's got to be humor in death. Negotiations are at an impasse.

They can't give Richard what he wants, and he's not backing down. Hours pass, with no progress. And as they're not completing his demands, he's getting impatient, threatening to kill Nancy if they don't act soon. Tell me what's going to go on here. There's going to be a noose around, by the way of snack here. I want to talk to Nancy, though. Can I talk to her for a second?

Yeah, Nancy, you better beg for you. I just want to make sure. I just want to make sure that she's safe right at the moment. No, she's not. She's not safe. They think they're going to negotiate this into a settlement. I do. That's why I'd like to talk to you more about it.

I'm not talking to me more. Now I'm killing. Goodbye. Nancy is running out of time. It's been over five hours since she was kidnapped. Her ex-husband is ready to kill her and everyone around the house, and it seems like police won't be able to stop him. There was no way for people to get to us without risking far more than.

than just me. I had reached the point of thinking, the only one who's going to get me out of here is me. It's up to Nancy to escape, but Richard is constantly pointing a gun at her. He could snap and kill her at any moment, but she won't go down without a fight. She decides to take a huge risk, desperate to get away. My head actually grabbed for the gun. He backhanded me, knocked me to the floor, dragged me across the house, and said, we're going in the basement, we're going into the bunker. This is it. I'm done with them. I'm done with you. Richard handcuffs Nancy to an eye bolt in the wall. Her mind is racing, trying to figure out what she can do to stop him from killing her.

She knows that he wants control over her. If he can't have her, no one can. So she lets him believe he's one. She tries to talk him down, saying she loves him and will stay with him if he doesn't hurt anybody. A lot of what I did that day was try to establish some kind of connection with him, to make him realize that I was a human being. There were times during the day when I thought he's calming down. It's working.

Because of Nancy's quick thinking, her ex-husband is delaying his plans. He's more focused on how she's treating him kindly. However, as negotiations continue, Richard's emotions are unpredictable. One minute, he's talking calmly. The next, he's screaming, hitting Nancy and threatening her more. After over 10 hours of trying to keep him from killing her, she's exhausted, and it becomes clear to her that no matter how she tries to reassure him, he won't let her go. Then, he calls Nancy's children from a previous marriage, Peter and Victoria.

He puts their mom on the phone, telling her to say her goodbyes. And I was listening to her voice for the first time that day. She sounded frightened, and he was in the background, and she was trying to say goodbye to us and telling us that she loved us. My brother and I told her we loved her and we told her to stay safe. Then he hung up on us. Peter and Victoria have no idea if they will ever see their mom again, and Nancy feels like she's about to lose everything. At the same time, the SWAT team is getting closer to the house,

and they send a robot ahead, making Richard even angrier. No one seems to be acting on his demands, and he's tired of waiting. I had my head on the desk, the gun at my temple, and his finger on the trigger, and he was doing a countdown, screaming at the police on the phone that if they didn't do what he said by the time he counted to 10, he was going to pull the trigger. Go on. I don't want you to count anymore, though, okay?

Yeah, well, I'm counting. You got to 9 to get it off. I'm in a different route. I don't get it. Don't try to talk to me. You have a really bad lady. Lady, you've got a one's here. That's right.

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Own the dream. Richard shoots the gun. But thankfully, the bullet goes into the wall of the house. He points the gun at Nancy again, trying to prepare herself as much as she can. All she can think about is her loved ones, hoping they'll stay safe. Then, Richard goes to pull the trigger. But miraculously, the gun jams. He suddenly turns his focus back to the negotiator on the phone.

Nancy doesn't know how much longer she has until he tries to shoot her again, but she's been given another chance to survive. I thought about my family and I knew what they were going through. All I want is for my children and myself to be safe. I don't want any collateral damage from this. I just want to live. Nancy has found the strength to keep fighting. As Richard starts another countdown,

she tries to loosen the eyeball and the wall that she's handcuffed to. She's not sure what she would do if she's able to get it out. But out of nowhere, Richard turns around and runs upstairs. After nearly 12 hours, she's really alone for the first time since she's been kidnapped. Her captor could come back at any moment, but without a gun pointed at her, this might be her only opportunity to get away. I thought, this is it. I just got a chance. I'm going to take it. I'd been trying to unscrew the bolt out of the wall, and I yanked it out the rest of the way. I ran out of the room across the basement to the back door.

Nancy pauses at the door. She remembers Richard talking about all the explosives. He said their motion detected. She doesn't know if he's telling him. the truth, but they might explode if she opens the door. She thinks about her kids and the possibility of freedom outside. I've been given this opportunity. I've got to go because this may be my last chance and I can't just sit there passively and let him kill me. I knew the police were out there. I knew my family was close by. I knew if I could get myself out, they would take care of me. Nancy takes a breath, pulls open the door and steps out. Much to her relief, nothing has to her relief. Nothing happens, and Richard hasn't come back yet, so he hasn't noticed she's out of the house.

She can see her path to truly escape. I ran across the yard and climbed up a chain link fence and a SWAT officer came out of nowhere. It was like an angel to me, and he just grabbed me off the top of the fence and said, this way, let's go. And we ran. And I finally got to where they had a command center and sat down. And at that point, I started breathing again. It's been over 12 hours since Nancy was kidnapped, and at last, she's out of the house. She escaped from her ex-husband, freeing herself from being held at gunpoint. Officers help her get to safety, but Nancy's not the only one who was in danger. Richard is still inside, threatening to set off explosives and kill police and other people in the area. Now that he's lost everything, there's no telling what

he'll do. He continues trying to manipulate Nancy, saying she and the kids have to come back in order for him to leave. There's nothing negotiators can say to convince him to come out of the house and surrender calmly. Running out of options, police decide they're going to use tear gas to try to force him out, but suddenly a fire breaks out in the house. And the house is burning. Has we got the fire department here yet? I don't think they plan out bringing the fire department in until you come out. Well, I'm not coming out. Well, it's going to get really hot in there if there's a fire. If I'm going to die, that's what I wanted to do.

Firefighters can't put out the blaze without the risk of Richard shooting them, and he's hoping to make Nancy and the police feel responsible for his death. But as the house burns around him, the smoke and flames become too much for him to bear. He steps out of the back door with the pistol in his hand, pointing it at his head. SWAT officers tell him to put it down, but he refuses. They shoot his arm with a rubber bullet, and he drops the gun. They arrest him, bringing an end to the nearly 13-hour standoff. As my family got to the hospital, my kids, my friends, realizing that I was safe, they were safe, I was still outside myself for a long time.

I was still observing what was happening and thinking, is this real? Am I alive? Am I really safe? There were so many emotions going on. I was so happy, but at the same time, I was so angry that Richard could have put our family through this. Nancy is treated for injuries from Richard hitting her, but she makes a full recovery. and reunites with her family. However, she will still have to face her ex-husband one more time, desperate to finally bring him to justice. In 2011, Richard Shankman goes on trial. His team tries

to use an insanity defense. If they succeed, he would go to a psychiatric facility for treatment. Nancy's testimony about her past with Richard will be crucial to reveal the truth about him and make sure he gets the sentence he deserves. Nearly 20 years earlier, in 1993, Nancy and Richard got married. At first, they had a happy life together, but a few years into their marriage, Nancy started to see a different side of her husband. He grew increasingly controlling, and he got angry easily. Richard didn't hurt her physically, but he was emotionally abusive. She was worried if she tried to divorce him, he would seek custody of the kids.

For years, she tried to appease him, hoping things would get better. But everything changed after Nancy's son Peter turned 16. One day, he wanted to take Richard's car out for a drive. Richard was furious. He ripped the license plate off so Peter couldn't drive it, and he started screaming at him. As soon as he showed himself as a danger to the kids, Nancy knew it couldn't go on. She got a protective order against Richard and went with the kids to stay at her sister's house. Nancy filed for divorce in 2006, but she started getting notes, emails, and voicemails from Richard,

revealing just how big of a threat he was. told her that the only way she would ever get a divorce is if one of them were dead. We're all going next. I did it destroy your life. Nancy was terrified for her and her kids. Even with the protective order against Richard, he was constantly breaking it, stalking Nancy and taking pictures of her. And on March 5, 2007, his messages became more than just threats when Nancy's house burned

down in a fire. She and her kids were safe, but their house and belongings were destroyed. Richard was found at the house and arrested for arson, but he posted nearly $600,000 in bail for multiple pending cases. Nancy and her kids know well how much pain Richard has caused and what kind of person he is. Angry about the divorce and losing his control over his ex-wife, he spent every day trying to destroy the life she's built, making her live in fear, and as he said himself, he planned the kidnapping for months.

at the trial, she explains that his insanity is all an act. On numerous occasions, he told me that he had learned over time that the crazier he acted, the more he got his way. He had a number of lawsuits going on, and I asked him, how do you handle these things? How is it that they always just go away? And he said, because I act crazy and they give up. Richard has been evading justice for years, constantly terrorizing Nancy and her family, but now they have the chance to truly stand up to him. and put an end to his control over them. I had known Richard Shankman since I was three years old.

Until the day he threw us out of the house, I called him death. Shankman's explosive and unpredictable anger will be forever a part of my childhood, but for future generations of our family need not suffer the same abuse if he receives a sentence he deserves. I was lucky enough to survive that day and everything that came before it. For Mr. Shankman, this will never stop. Richard himself gives a statement in front of the judge, And in a shocking move, he doesn't express any sort of regret for what he's done.

I view myself right now as a prisoner of war, a POW. She fired the first shot in the famous War of the Tyler's by filing for a divorce. Even after all the suffering Richard has caused his ex-wife and her family, he tries to make himself the victim, but he goes one step further, doubling down on his actions. One lone experienced professional assassin has the green light from me to kill Connecticut. It's self-proclaimed foster child for domestic violence. I feel there's a waste of time for me to rot in a cage for the rest of my life without a purpose. Killing Nancy Tyler gives me that purpose.

Richard wants his ex-wife to be terrified of him, thinking about him constantly, even if he's in jail. He brazenly continues to threaten her, even in front of a judge, but his antics are finally shut down. Now, the reason you're here today, Mr. Shaken, is not because you're a prisoner of war, and actually to state you're a prisoner of a war is an insult to any of a moment. American soldier. You're here because of your own conduct and nothing more. You find it guilty, not guilty, or not guilty by reason of mental disease or defense. Guilty. The jury rejects his insanity plea, finding him guilty, and in 2012, he's sentenced to 70 years in prison.

Even with his continued threats in court, Nancy refuses to let her ex-husband have control over her. She has been fighting for years to get away from him, and putting him behind bars lets her finally focus on her own life. I am very relieved and planning to go back to my life with my family and my friends in safety. It was not unexpected. We've moved on. After over a decade of being in constant danger, enduring Richard's abuse, stalking, and threats, Nancy has taken her life back and made it her own. Now, she's an advocate for other survivors, and she became a board member of the Connecticut Coalition of Domestic Violence. She hopes that Sharing her story will help other people learn about the early signs of abuse in a relationship

and offer advice on how to get through it. Call and get help and at least make sure people know about what's going on, not just you. I was the classic victim who first didn't want to admit things were not quite normal. I kept asking myself, is this really abuse? Am I overreacting? I really thought I could handle it. I could pacify him. but what I was really doing is just delaying the inevitable and maybe making it riskier for everybody. Nancy was held at gunpoint for over 12 hours, not sure if she would ever see her family again, but she survived, escaping from her tormentor.

No one else was hurt, and at last she's free from her ex-husband's control. She's dedicated to helping others and making the most of her freedom and her life with loved ones. Because when you come that close to not living your life any longer, it makes you very conscious of what you have left. And I'm just going to live and enjoy every minute of it as much as I can.